Living Christmas Tree heads north to live with Santa: Will make new home at North Pole workshop

Friday

Feb 22, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By Michelle Kingstonmkingston@fosters.com

DOVER — With a fresh trim and light surgery, the Living Christmas Tree made its move to the North Pole Wednesday morning.

Recreation Director Gary Bannon placed a sign on the tree once it made its way into the truck bed, alerting passersby that the tree that has grown tall in Henry Law Park for 27 years was making its way to its new home at Santa's Workshop.

The living tree said at the annual tree lighting ceremony in November that Santa received permission from the city to bring him north.

“I am so excited to have the chance,” the living tree said at the ceremony. “I'm going to be Santa's official Christmas tree.”

Urban Tree Service of Rochester arrived at the park a few minutes before 8 a.m. to trim the tree's branches and cut it carefully into three pieces in order to deliver it to Santa, who would be able to piece him back together.

The company's general foreman, Paul Marcheterre, said removing the tree was easy because of its location.

“Sometimes it is difficult if the tree is close to buildings,” he said.

Within two hours, the tree was trimmed, sawed and picked up by a crane and was on its way to the North Pole, leaving Henry Law Park, where it has stood since it was donated to Dover in 1985.

“We have two different options now,” Bannon said, while scanning the park, which has a whole new look without the overgrown tree.

The city will decide between permanently bringing the tree's cousin, from a different “branch” of the family, to the park or bringing a tree in just for the holiday season, a process which Bannon calls, “sleeving.”

With sleeving, the city would remove a flag from its pole and place a tree in its place during December. After New Year's Day, the city would remove the tree.

“Either way, we will continue the annual ceremony,” Bannon said, “one way or the other.”